While we aren't going to tackle the kitchen all at once, we are going to start the process. Just like with the towels in the linen closet, which eventually leads to the sheets, etc, starting with your daily dinnerware will eventually lead to the other cabinets in your kitchen.

Today's Assignment is to focus on your dinnerware only.Is it mis-matched? Is it 5 of one pattern and 5 of another? Is it plastic mixed with stoneware? Your goal here is to, as before, get rid of every single piece that is chipped, cracked, dingy. If it leaves you with one plate and one matching cup - then at least you have a starting point. Make a note of what you need to replace on your notepad.(Walmart and Target have complete dinnerware sets for under $30.)

TIP: If you have all your grandma's china in the attic - use it -she did! If it's too delicate for daily use, at least try to display it or pass it on to another family member.

By having matching dishes, you are streamlining 1) your kitchen cabinets 2) your dining room table 3) the overall appearance - which makes the clutter disappear. I recommend the all white route, or solid colors because you can mix and match brands. Patterns take away from the "solid" clean look we are working towards. Solid white, black, solid red - just solid!

I KNOW you have at least 1 plastic cup from QT you love in your cabinet. Let's move that out too. Glassware is VERY inexpensive. Buy heavy glass - it will stand up longer. Same with silverware. Walmart sells a simple pattern for 5 forks for $1 - and they last (I use them in my catering.)

Whatever you chose, just streamline everything. No more mixing and matching. It won't take very long to go though your cabinet, pull the odd ones out and make a note of your pad of what to replace. Pack everything you pull out and add it to you pail of towels, books and CDs for donating!

EXTRA CREDIT: Do the same with your bake ware and cookware. You don't need 12 cookie sheets or 6 iron skillets. MY STORY: In my kitchen, I have two sets of daily dinnerware. They are the same pattern only one set is plain white and one is has an added design (see below).

I keep the patterned set in my china cabinet and use as back up and for special occasions instead of my inherited china (which is irreplaceable, but it IS displayed for me to enjoy). By having the two sets coordinate, I can supplement them with each other. The set also is matches with my all-white baking dishes. Everything in my kitchen is either white or clear glass. It wasn't always this way and I have spent years weeding things out, but it's close to perfect now.

EXTRA POINTS - SOMETHING SIMPLE! Tired of "purging" yet? Here's a quick fix. Your kitchen counters should be clear of anything you don't use daily. The food processor, the can opener and the staples canisters should be hidden. Even if you have high-dollar fancy small appliances that all match, they still need to be hidden (all together, nice and neat of course.) Keeping the counter clear is a SHOW that you are "clutter-free" even if your cabinets are not! This goes double for the top of your fridge! Nothing should go up there.

My kitchen.... I leave out only the toaster and coffee maker, which we use every morning. Everything else goes out of sight!

....free of clutter! Except for the homegrown tomatoes ready to made into salsa!

TIP: Pick one cabinet or pantry shelf for ALL your small appliances. Don't put them too high and put the ones you use the most in the front. If you need to, the linen closet may be your best bet.

Next Wednesday - MISSION 9 - Your Home OfficeWednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I love movies almost as much as I love books. I grew up without cable and all we had to do was rent and watch movies. They were too expensive to buy back then, so if we did buy one, it had to be one we all loved and could watch over and over. (I can recite every word to Animal House, Caddy Shack and Blue's Brothers!) These days, movies are easy to find and affordable but I still abide by the rule that if I don't love it, I don't buy it. I can rent the same movie about 5 or 6 times for the cost to buy it AND it's not taking up space in my house. I can Tivo movies or check them out from the library for free - all this in for the sake of keeping my home clutter-free.

I can relate to the benefit ownership too. My youngest daughter, now 6, has more than a few DVDS and, I have to admit, I still have close to 75 Disney/kids VHS movies from when my teenagers were kids. What I cannot relate to is those of you who buy every single movie as soon as it comes out so that you have wall-to-wall DVDs in your living room. You can't possibly watch the old ones as fast as you buy new ones. I suggest you pick a dozen of your favorites and eBay the others. Make a small fortune! You can rent the new ones or sign up for Netflix.

TIP: Send the CDs and DVDs to a Children's Shelter or Women's Shelter. They have very little to entertain themselves with and they would appreciate the movies more than you do viewing them on your shelf! Sell them back to Wal-mart! Wal-mart will buy them back AND pay for the shipping to them. Check out http://walmart.gazelle.com/?_gzl=1

EXTRA POINTS and $ TIP: Eliminating Electronics. As with outdated books and movies, you probably have a few walk-mans, pagers and bulky monitors taking up space somewhere. What about cords that you don't know what they power up? Gather them all together, pull the batteries out for separate recycling, and decide what is trash and what still works. Many businesses will give you a rebate for recycled electronics. As for the power cords, try the "single sock" trick from Mission Four. Put them all in one big box. When you need a power cord for something, see if it's there. After a while, you will have pulled the cords you need and can recycle what's left. Don't worry about throwing away a cord you need, most likely it isn't something you use anymore. NEW! Wal-mart has just started a new program that BUYS your used electronics. It's very simple and they pay for the shipping! Check out http://walmart.gazelle.com/?_gzl=1

Next Wednesday - MISSION EIGHT: Deconstructing Your DINNERWAREWednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I am a magazine junkie. One of the few bad habits I admit I possess is buying magazines. Over the years I have learned to cut back because 1) I just can't afford this bad habit 2) I can't actually read them ALL and 3) I have become more earth-friendly.

MY STORY: When my grandmother passed, I had to clean out her house. She had tons of magazines lying around. For every 50, I found one that she had marked with something interesting. It took days to go through them. Just when I thought I had sorted through them all, I opened the attic door to literally 100s of more! She kept every single magazine she ever bought! Magazines are RARELY valuable. If they are, it is because someone else is collecting them and need a particular issue. There is no reason to keep them for years at a time.

When I began to go through my own stacks magazines, I realized I was keeping tons of magazines for no reason. Since my business involves home decor, organizing and catering, I pulled out and few, mainly the holiday ones for reference, and everything else went to the gym or the women's shelter. Since then, every magazine I buy, I read as soon as possible so that it doesn't end up in an unread pile by my desk.

TIP: As you read a new magazine, skim the articles and mark the pages you want to go back and read. On the spot, tear out any article or photo you may want to try later. Go back and take the time to read the articles you marked, then immediately add the magazine to the recycle pile. Put the torn out pictures and pages in a file for later reference.

My own magazine "file" book

Assignment: If you haven't already, go through your house and gather every magazine (this includes catalogs) you own, read or unread. You can keep 12 for future reference. As you get the newest issues, pull the oldest out to recycle - even if you have not read it yet (after three months if you haven't read it, you probably aren't going to.) Don't renew your subscriptions if you find that all three issues are still un-read. Most magazines have on line versions. They cut down on tree harvesting, paper production energy and transport fuel. They also don't make piles in the floor that fall over every time the dog runs by!

Wednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Reduce, Recycle and Repurpose. Reduce your stuff and commit to stop purchasing anything for your home that you don't need or love. If you love it on site, then know where you will keep it! One-time use items such as books and impulse buying results in junk drawers and shelves full of clutter. Don't buy it in the first place!

IF YOU DON' LOVE IT - LOSE IT.

Donate the extra things in your life and recycle what you can't give away.

MISSION FIVE, SIX and SEVEN:

Purging books, magazines, movies and other multi-media...

Even if you don't think you have many books lying around, just take a minute to try and collect them all, along with any magazines and catalogs. You may be surprised at the stacks!BOOKS: Why do people hang on to books and magazines they have already read? Why do people buy more books when they have 20 at home unread?

MY STORY: I grew up with books everywhere in our house. My mother read, my grandparents read - I read. We had books everywhere! I kept all my books growing up and moved them every time I had to move. Boxes and boxes and more HEAVY boxes. Then a miracle happened. I read an article about the love of books and the people who love them. (Sounds cheesy right?) The article said that people who love books, just like me, tend to hoard their books, never to share with others. Why? Books are not irreplaceable. Even out of print books can be found through eBay and other Internet sources. Books are stories that are meant to be shared..why not pass the stories (books) onto to others? This hit me like a ton of books (sorry!) Why should I keep 500 paperback books that I will never to read again? This article gave me permission to release my books and, literally, the weight of the books was lifted off my mind (and my sagging bookshelves!) It took me a while to go through and pare down to the few I couldn't bare to part with, but now my books shelves contain books that are 1) My favorites 2) Non-fiction/reference 3) Biographies of people that inspire me or 4) valuable/rare.

Your assignment is to gather ALL your books. The paperbacks by the bed, the reference books in your office, even the hardback Stephen King's you've been collecting for years. Pull out the ones you read over and over and can't bare to part with, keep it under one shelf-full. Pull out any reference or guide book that you have read or used for reference MORE THAN ONCE. (That bird-watching book you bought four years ago can go if you aren't an avid bird-watcher by now!) Pull any sentimental books - such as the Book of Etiquette that belonged to your grandmother or that is valuable, like an original Gone With The Wind. If you have books you have not read yet, pull out the ones that still interest you and pass on the others.

TIP: Everything you keep should fit in ONE space, not in several all over the house. The only exception could be books you use in your office only and your children's books. Create a space dedicated to your children's books. Allow them the opportunity to learn to love books by having them sit in this designated area to read. It will keep the books from getting torn or colored in. Also, don't add do-dads to your book shelves. They just get in the way, collect dust and, well, get in the way. From now on, when you buy new books, pass them along or donate them as soon as you are finished. Share the stories, don't hoard them!

Paperbacks aren't valuable, will get musty and don't travel well. Hardback books, even best selling fictions are rarely valuable, heavy to move and take up alot of space. So what did I do with my books? Some went to eBay, others to the women's shelters, the best went to the library, a few (hundred) went in the yard sale. I tend not to buy hardbacks anymore. Instead I borrow from the library, buy the paperback version and have quarterly book swaps (click HERE for more info.) My book shelves are orderly, full of books that are often USED, and if I do buy a new book, I have plenty of space for it.

$ TIP - Cash4books.net is a fast, SUPER easy way to get money for your books. Just search their website to see if they have your book listed, print a pre-paid mailing label from your own printer, package them up and drop the box off at the post office- once they get and inspect your books, they mail you a check - easy as that! My first check was $41 for 6 books!

Wednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

This recipe is original from Lagasse. I made it for a wedding tasting last month and it was easy and wonderful! It's so pretty it would make a great plate for that romantic Valentine's Day Dinner you are planning (wink, wink).

Foil Wrapped Salmon with Lemon and Rosemary

1 ½ lb. Salmon Steaks (Total Weight)1 tsp. Sea salt½ tsp. Fresh Ground White Pepper2 Springs Fresh Rosemary1 Lemon, sliced thin½ Small Red Onion, sliced thin2 Garlic Cloves, sliced thinDrizzle of Olive OilPreheat oven 425 degreesArrange two squares of aluminum foil onto a baking sheet. Top each piece with a smaller square of parchment paper. Rinse the Salmon steaks under cold water and place on the top layer of parchment, skin side down.Sprinkle the salmon with the salt and pepper. Place the slices of lemon, garlic and onion across the top. Place one spring of rosemary on each filet. Crimp the foil on each side to prevent the oil from running off, and drizzle the fish with olive oil.Fold over the parchment paper to cover the fish. Then fold over and crimp the foil over the parchment, creating an airtight package.Bake for 15 minutes or until just cooked through – you want it to be moist.Serve with fresh spinach or rice pilaf.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Looking for ways to save money in your wedding budget? Here's an easy way to make your own table number stands for guest tables. Why rent or buy these when you can make them!

All you need are: Wooden dowels, wooden wheels, wooden clothes pins, glue and spray paint. All these items can be found at your local Hobby Lobby or craft store. There is an aisle that is dedicated to unpainted wooden craft supplies. For Step-by-Step instructions with photos, visit http://www.thekendalcompanies.com/DIY-Projects.html